We are comfortable with crating or not. It depends on what your dog needs are. We do not have a fenced yard. We tie up the dogs and are ALWAYS with them outside. We walk across the street to Nature Hill, where dogs can sniff and explore, swim in stream or hike the hill with us. While chilling inside dogs have free roam of the house. I try to keep all dogs off the couches… usually I loose that battle. We have a senior dog who spends his day sleeping in the sun and a 3 year old sweet collie mix. She is friendly and playful. Quite, delicate, submissive and enjoys the company of other younger dogs! We praise and give treats as rewards. We do not feed table food to any dog.